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BlessedamI
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Name: Jason
Country: United States
State: Texas
Metro: Waco
Birthday: 6/21/1985
Gender: Male
Interests: Jesus
Expertise: none... I am nothing, and I have nothing. Jesus is my all.
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/3/2004
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| The Trouble with Sin...Most people in today's culture have addressed sin as a "right vs wrong," rule-based black-and-white system that governs what they should and should not do. Sin, by its very definition, is an ACTION-related condition. The etymology of the word traces its origins to archery - to "sin" was literally to "miss the mark" in a field of archery. And so "sinning" is failing to hit the bullseye, so to speak. Failing to meet a certain condition - to achieve perfection. Thus when we talk about sin, by necessity we talk about ACTIONS. What we DO in relation to the Holiness of God. Originally, as in the garden of Eden, this was simply an understood condition - love God and obey His commands. But it wasn't about rules. God had set up for Adam and Eve the perfect life, and He knew exactly what they needed to have the fullness of joy and pleasure. We all know what happened though - they chose their own way over God's. And I am going to submit that THEREIN lies the definition of sin. It is simply this: God has a perfect will for our lives - if at any point we choose our own will over His perfect will, it is sin, and it takes many forms. This more-or-less abstract idea didn't really work for the first generations of men, however. As the years went on, people began to become numb to the LOVE of God and unaware that their lives did not meet the standard that God wanted them to live at. That was the basis of the Law of Moses - the Ten Commandments, the system of rules handed down to us by God himself, so that people would become aware that they are living for themselves and not for God.
"The law was added so that the trespass might increase..."- Romans 5:20a And this is where Jesus comes in. The Law became a burden unbearable to God's people, because now they were not living in ignorance their separation from God. If there is no standard, you don't know you're breaking it. But as soon as there is a standard, it becomes impossible to follow. And indeed, the Law is impossible to follow. God imposed on the Israelites an impossible metre, only to show them that they can NOT merit God's favor by DOING. SIN is created in DOING. The ACTION - or rather, CONDITION, since the opposing remedy is impossible - creates sin. See where I'm going with this? "...But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 5:20b-21 God offered GRACE through Jesus' death on the cross. You all know the story - God lifted the burden of sin and death, the impossible measure, by offering a free gift of grace through the ULTIMATE ACTION - the sacrifice of Jesus, the anti-sin - the ultimate example of obedience to the will of God, and the opposite of every action ever committed against the will of God. And so the lives of God's people no longer focused on DOING, but on GRACE. Paul (and others) talk extensively in the New Testament about the question of GRACE vs LAW, and therein lies the fundamental paradox of the Gospel. We are given GRACE freely by God - but simultaneously we are held to the impossible standard.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." - Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus' call to the disciples was to take up their crosses - to die to their desires - and to follow Him. To do just as He did. Jesus, the embodiment of grace, took the Law and cranked it up a notch - where adultery used to be an action, He made it a heart condition (see Matt 5:28, and surrounding verses). Where eating food used to defile someone, Jesus pointed out that impurity comes from within a person's heart (see Mark 7:20-23). He took all the ACTIONS of the Law and drove them to a deeper level. Jesus made the point clear that being righteous isn't about obeying a system of rules - although unrighteousness is made abundantly apparent by the law, righteousness does not come by means of it - being righteous comes from loving God, and from submitting your own will to the will of the Father.
"...Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus makes the point right here that EVERYTHING - All the Law, the Prophets, the entire Foundation of the pursuit of God and of Righteousness that we endure - is founded upon loving God. Everything is based upon worship to God. Which begs the question, "What does it mean / what does it look like to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind?" Jesus told His followers to sell all their possessions to the poor to follow Him (see Matt 19:21) - He told people to die to themselves every day (see Matt 10:38, Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23) - He told people to gouge out the eye that causes them to stumble (see Matt 5:29) - He told them to "Be Holy" and to "Be perfect" (see Matt 5:48, 1 Peter 1:16). What then do we do to follow Jesus? According to Jesus, what does it take to be called a "Christian?" What is the COST of DISCIPLESHIP? We call ourselves "Christians" - "Christ Ones," or "Little Christs." Following Jesus requires EVERYTHING of us. More than just ACTIONS, it requires our LIFE be forfeit to Christ and our WILL to submitted to His. SIN, therefore, should never be the focus, because then we are concerned with ACTIONS. Right and Wrong, therefore, should never be the focus, because then we are concerned with ACTIONS. Jesus always ponited back to our HEARTS. Where is your heart? Are you submitted in every part of your life to God? Are you holding anything back? Of the things that you hold back from God, He will only ask you to give up to Him what is not offered freely - so my advice would be to offer freely everything while you can. We have a very unique opportunity here on earth to worship God of our own free wills while the have the ability not to. In heaven, we will be worshipping for eternity without an alternative; here on earth, the worship is so much sweeter because it comes out of sacrifice, a humble spirit, a contrite heart, and a life abandoned and given up freely to God. Only here, knowing that the Law is fulfilled under the grace offered by Christ with the understanding of the Cost of Discipleship, can we asses what in our lives pleases the heart of God, and waht in our lives that He grieves. Let your LIFE be worship - let it be a fragrant offering, a sacrifice of praise out of the thanksgiving of your heart for the salvation that has come through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. - Romans 12:1
But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matt 6:33 | | |
| Nostalgia, part deuxIt wasn't long after I uploaded the first Nostalgia list when scores more of incredibly impactful childhood movies flooded my mind. Here's part 2 - some of them I can't believe I forgot about the first time around - and others which may be more obscure really deserve to at least be mentioned. Oh, man, what ever happened to TV? 
Hoomania... this was the only picture I could find about this movie. I have no idea who made it, where it came from, or what year it was made - but I think I would kill to get my hands on a copy. It was a badly made stop-motion animated movie about Proverbs, right there with Pilgrim's Progress. Man, it was cool. I probably watched it in the same degree as I watched Scamper the Penguin. My fave.
 
Now, for leaving this out of the first list, I should be flogged. The original "POW! BAM! BOOM!" Batman movie with Adam West is one of THE foundational movies of my life. Enough said. God bless Adam West.
 
OOOh, Boy. This movie bombed. BUT IT WAS SO COOL! Tron is heralded as one of the most influential movies of the digital film - it was ahead of its time in computer-generated and computer-enhanced movie elements, and it really set the stage for the development of majormotion pictures of today. Such a crappy movie. But such a GOOD movie.
 
Again... how I left Transformers out, I'm not sure. It's on the same level as the Ninja Turtles. Amazing, defining, and literally transforming to my life (I'm punny).
 
The Swiss Family Robinsons... another one of those Disney movies that should be forever crystalized into the "you must watch this" canon. What's better than an Ostrich race on an uninhabited island with a beautiful girl that you think is a guy? Nothing.
 
Ed Wynn, how we miss you. This movie is a classic. The "Forest of No Return" ALWAYS freaked me out. Those talking trees gave me the creeps, man. So did the bad guy with the curvy sword. Actually... this movie really was pretty scary. But incredibly creative. I loved watching it!
 
The original Dr. Dolittle. SO much better than Eddie Murphy's remakes. Rex Harrison, the quintessential Disney actor of the golden picture era (I made that up, but he's in some great ones - think My Fair Lady). - only equalled by Dick Van Dyke.
 
Now that we've mentioned Dick Van Dyke, I can't very well leave out Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, can I? No, I can't. MM, Toot Sweets.
 
AH! I almost forgot about Pete's Dragon! My favorite movie, maybe of all time. I'm not quite sure. All I know is that we never owned it - it belonged to my grandmother. Sometimes I went over to her house JUST to watch this movie.
 
Old-school Winnie the Pooh. You can't say you didn't like watching pooh-bear. Well, I didn't like watching the Heffalumps and Woozles scene... I was always scared during Pooh's dream. Other than Heffalumps and Woozles, though. You know you loved it.
 
My favorite Christmas movie ever. The Island of Misfit Toys... an Dentist elf... and a giant, bouncing Bumble. Every time we get our Christmas movies out of the attic, this is the one I go to first.
 
He was so brave! Lampy, Radio, Blanky, and Kirby. The Brave Little Toaster was the best adventure story ever. Sad in parts, but I loved it. I mean, a mud swamp, a hardware store, and Crazy Ernie's Amazing Emporium of TOTAL BARGAIN MADNESS! haha... the TV was the best character. Whenever I clean my house, I STILL think about the scene when the radio turns on his music and they all dance and sing to clean up his Master's cabin.
The Great Mouse Detective... sooo scary. I couldn't ever watch it alone, but man, this has always been on my favorite Disney movie list. They don't make animation like this anymore. It was the best.
 
Haha... they don't make animation like this anymore, either. Ah, I miss this show. I miss the valuable lessons at the end of every show, too -- "And now you know, and knowing is half the battle!"
 
Before they franchised The Land Before Time into like 20 sequels, this was a movie that could hold its own on ANY day. The original is still the best movie. A great story... a great soundtrack that still moves me... great animation... great characters.
 
The. Best. Ever.
 
An obscure old Disney movie, but well worth an honorable mention. This movie isn't one of the greatest ever made, but it sure was fun to watch. Toad was a sad fellow... but his madness made him interesting enough to want to see what was going to happen next!
 
Did you ever watch the Not Quite Human trilogy? I haven't seen them on TV in years, and I haven't ever heard them talked about either, but for a ten-year-old who loves science fiction, you couldn't beat them.
 
Oh, Psalty. I didn't watch you for a terribly long time - you only held my interest for a small window of impressionable years - but you did a good job ...impressioning me. I just want to know who came up with the concept of a giant blue singing songbook that parents would trust to send their kids on a camping trip with. Dude... I would not let my kid go ANYWHERE with that character.
CLOSING
I don't think I ever realized just how much of a Disney Kid I am. I think we've all been raised, at least in part, by good ol' Walt. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing... but hey, it made for a flippin' awesome media-swallowed childhood. | | |
| Nostalgia Ever hear something familiar for the first time in a long time and get sent back to distant memories of your childhood when everything was awesome and wonderful? Yeah, I'm there. 
Remember this guy? Man, Scamper was my hero. So was the Macaroni penguin - he was just plain cool, man. "Gotta get away, gotta get away!" I probably watched this at least once a week.
If you never watched Fraggle Rock, you had a seriously deprived childhood. These guys were the bomb. dot com. My favorite were the talking heaps of trash. I mean, can it get cooler than that?
 
Baloo, Kit, Khan, King Louey, and all the rest. The whole jungle book cast, PLUS the absolutely unbelievable cloudkicker that we all wished we could have ridden behind Baloo's plane. Man, that was cool.
The Sonic the Hedgehog games on SEGA Genesis... classics in their own right. I recently heard a remix of the old Sonic 3 soundtrack and it really made me miss beating ol' robotnik on the head with a well-timed super-spin attack. Oh, the days of three-button control pads.
While we're on SEGA games - did you ever play Columns? It was an obvious rip-off of Tetris and definitely a pre-cursor to Bejewled; but it was one of the most addicting and consuming games I've ever played. My mom and I used to battle for high score!
 
And in light of the new TMNT movie (if you're a fan, go see it - it was awesome!), how can we forget the amazing multiplayer arcade games OR the Turtle action figures that EVERYBODY had. I miss those.
 
Remember McGee and Me? Nick was cool because he was normal... and that rabbit and the old man always freaked me out. Then there was the Adventures in Odyssey -- good ol' Whit! Yeah. Whit and McGee practically raised me.
Here's a true test: did you ever watch Gummi Bears? Aw, it was the best! Bouncy little teddy bears that fought off giant goblins by drinking their Gummy Berry juice! Runs in the top five for sure. "Don't call me Dukey!"
And no list is complete without Doug. We ALL miss Patty Mayonaise.
Then there was Johnny Quest. The little boy that gave fire and passion to us all. Without Johnny, who would we have aspired to be like? He was the childhood MacGuyver for those of us who didn't like shows with real human beings in them until later in life.
Just tell me you read these books. If you have to lie and say "yes," that's okay too. Just tell me you read them.
I wasn't really ever allowed to watch Dinosaurs, but I remember that the times I did sneak in front of the TV at night to watch it were some of the best television moments of my childhood. I didn't get all the jokes, true, but a fat talking baby dinosaur in a lay-z-boy is a recipie for success!
 
Who can forget Wicket? The amazingly awesome Ewok from the last Star Wars movie of the pre-digital film era. These two Ewok movies brought home the adorably cuddly little teddies and let us get to know them on a more personal level. And it's Classic Star Wars. You can't go wrong!
 
And last but not least on today's list, the Flight of the Navigator, another obscure movie that both shows my age and disposition for sci-fi flicks. Obscure as it may be, however, this movie is one that should definitely be on your "must-see" list nomatter who you are.
The 80s and 90s were aweosme years! What happened to movies are cartoons since then? Man... to be ten again. Or 21, still watching these movies and playing these games... haha. Oh well. :) AMENDMENT: You cannot possibly make a list like this without including the 1966 Batman movie. That movie practically defines who I am as an individual today, and as such, I am forever debted to Adam West. THE Batman. George Clooney, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, you have nothing on Adam West.
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| All of Your Promises Won't Let go of Me!Desperation Band has this song called "Promises." And I've pretty much had it on repeat on my iPod since I remembered that I do, in fact, own the album in which that song is included. It's really amazing how you can sing something over and over and then finally one day you have a revelation of what it means. Simple truths are like that. "Promises" is such a childlike song! haha.. it's simply full of unadultered joy and exclamations of God's goodness! Some might scoff that it's not theologically profound - but profound meanings tend to be hidden in the guise of childlike simplicity. Isn't that like the gospel? Unless you become like one of these children, you can not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The whole concept of childlike faith - of reliance on God - on using the foolish to confound the wise - of using the weak to shame the strong - being a leader by becoming a servant - God becoming man - the Gospel is founded on it. Without it, it would cease to be the good news; it would turn into the "news for those who are capable enough to hear it." No, God makes things simple for us. The greatest truths have the simplest realities. I probably sang "All of Your promises won't let go of me!" a hundred times before I finally realized what I was singing! The profound thing about it was this: God had been speaking His promises into me all week long while I was in Juarez, reaffirming my identity in Him and remembering His promises! No wonder I've been listening to it on repeat - it ministers to my soul in a way that proclaims the work of God in my heart! His joy overtakes and I can't forget about it! I've surrendered my life to Your ways
I have learned what it means to obey
Jesus, my heart has been changed by You
I am walking the path You have made
I am seeking the Truth every day
Jesus, my heart has been changed by You
...I couldn't walk away if I tried, cuz Your love is better than life!
The sun's shining bright and it just won't set
'Cuz your love is alive and it lights my step
My heart is amazed every day to the next
Your joy overtakes and I can't forget about it!
OH Oh oh, OH Oh oh, OH-Oh I can't forget about it!
OH Oh oh, OH Oh oh, OH-Oh I can't forget about it!
Singin, All of Your promises won't let go of me!
All of Your promises won't let go of me!
All of Your promises... | | |
| really?I'm disgusted with myself. All has turned to vanity. Lord, crush my pride. I want to be one who runs after the throne with abandon. Abandon. I've seen the power of God fall with the authority of Jesus on people who need His love! I've been shaken by the call of Christ as the wind of Spirit sweeps through and tears flesh from bone. I've watched as chains have been broken off of men who had been enslaved their entire lives. I can personally testify to the reality of the Kingdom of God establishing itself in power in the lives of men who are transformed by God's redeeming work! My eyes have seen Him. I know the one who calls kings and slaves. Yet I'm still too good to take five minutes to tell a man the power of what I've seen.
Am I a king or a slave?
I'm rank with the fear of man. The lust of the flesh consumes me. My pride blinds me. Set your seal upon my heart, O God. Test me, and know my thoughts. Make me pure. Send me through the fires that I may come out refined by your blood. Search me, and know my heart. Dig in deep and remove the disgusting build-up of junk that has settled there. Let it be fixed on you. Point out anything in me that offends you, and I will destroy it! Just say the word, Jesus! Let me hear you speak to me and teach me your ways! Lead me along the path of everlasting life. And I will be devoted to you. Jesus, I am devoted to you.
'Till death takes me home. | | |
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